http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate...al/8101073.htm
S.C. eye in the sky to protect the abused
By LAUREN LEACH
Staff Writer
S.C. domestic violence offenders who take one step in the wrong direction will soon be tracked by a technology-savvy Big Brother.
Funded by a $120,000 federal grant, the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services will have 65 Global Positioning System units ready to go in the next couple of months.
The satellite-linked devices ? similar to GPS units that have become a popular option in vehicles ? will be worn by men who have been convicted of violence against women.
The intent of these units is to ensure the offenders do not again try to approach their victims.
?We can track offenders? movements at any time during the day, respond to violations and verify when violations occur,? said Scott Norton, who works in field operations support for the department.
Training begins this month for a dozen agents from Richland, Lexington, Orangeburg and Spartanburg counties. The devices should be in use by mid-April or the first part of May, department spokesman Sandy Gibson said.
South Carolina, which leads the nation in the number of women killed by men, will join a handful of states that are using GPS technology, including Florida, Minnesota and Arizona.
?I think it?s a positive step forward for victims? safety,? said Sara Barber, interim director of the Domestic Abuse Center in Columbia.
The units give judges an option that can track offenders far more precisely than traditional electronic monitoring. It also gives them an option for a prison sentence.
The system works like this:
The offender wears a removable GPS tracking device on his belt that collects and transmits data about his whereabouts via satellite. To ensure that the device is used, it is electronically connected to an ankle bracelet. If the ankle bracelet is removed, authorities are alerted immediately.
Information is instantly transmitted to those connected with the case, including the victim, probation and parole agents, and law enforcement officers. They can keep up with the offender through fax, e-mail, text message or by phone, Gibson said. Who receives the data is determined by a judge.
If the offender steps out of bounds, getting too close to the victim?s home or workplace for example, his GPS unit will beep. The victim and authorities will be simultaneously notified.
?This tells us everything we need to know and then some,? Gibson said.
Funding for the program was provided through a federal grant under the Stop Violence Against Women Act administered by the state Department of Public Safety. The cost is $7.92 per day per offender, Gibson said. Electronic monitoring, which doesn?t track offenders? movements, costs $2 to $3 a day per offender.
The GPS equipment is leased from a vendor. Once the yearlong grant expires, Gibson said, his department will reapply or find money to continue the program if it is successful.
In 1998, Florida became the first state to use GPS to track offenders.
?One of the things we stress is this won?t prevent a crime from occurring necessarily, but it is a very good tool for law enforcement. ... When they leave their residence, we know where they are,? said Ken Johnson, correctional programs administrator with the state Department of Corrections.
GPS in Florida is used on sex offenders, violent offenders and any other cases ordered by the court, Johnson said. The state continues to use traditional electronic monitoring on offenders who don?t need the added security of GPS.
GPS, which operates on cellular technology, does have a few limitations. For instance, it can track the offender to a building but might not pinpoint where in the building to locate him.
If an offender lives in an area without cell phone service, the unit is placed in a stand to be recharged at home. That stand is hooked up to a land line.
Gibson said during the next few months, the department will be learning about the devices and working out any kinks. He said GPS is the right place to start in lowering the number of slayings of women by men.
?Maybe we?ll make some small impact on those deaths.?
Reach Leach at (803) 771-8549 or
leleach@thestate.com